Abe Jarjoura 03/01/2023
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“When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive – to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love.”
Marcus Aurelius
My morning routine determines how I react to the unfolding of my day. I have no control over what the day brings, but I can have control over how I react to it, and that is in how I set my mind and the plan.
Morning routines or habits get your day going, and the “going” starts before you shut your eyes to go to sleep. To set yourself for a good morning routine, you have to set your self up for a good night of sleep.
I hope you noticed that what I am talking about has the word ” habit” or “routine.” We can do anything once, twice, three times….. and then we get bored, distracted, uninterested and the whole thing falls apart.
For us to succeed in starting our days on the right foot, we have to do what ” needs” to be done REPEATEDLY. It has to become a habit.
Of course, like pretty much everything in life, this has so many things that influence it. All of our interactions with others, the news we just heard, our health and well being, our financial situation, whether we had a fight with our spouse, what our boss told us, etc. etc.
All of life and what it throws at us has to be confronted and handled, otherwise, we get into a constant state of upset.
Having said that, I want to concentrate on five practical “things” I practice every morning to set the day right and they are mental as much as they are physical!
If I’m a mess in the morning, I feel like I spend the rest of the day trying to catch up. If I am able to be intentional about my mornings, though, the rest of my day tends to go more smoothly as well. Because of this, I’ve developed a little “morning routine checklist” to help me stay on track. Everyone will have a different morning routine that works for them, their circumstances, and their stage of life, but I thought I’d share what’s working for me these days– I know I’m always interested to know what’s working for other people!
My Morning Routine; Organizing My Morning for a More Productive Day:
1. Keep my phone somewhere other than on my nightstand.
Big one!
In the past, I used to be glued to my phone while in bed. To wind down, at night, before falling asleep, I would spend some time on FB or Tik Tok. I would numb my mind strolling through absolutely useless posts ( as entertaining as it may have been.)
As we may have heard by now, the screen and its light interferes with our circadian rhythm in our brain which will interfere with our sleep time. At a minimum, we get less hours of rest and at a maximum, less hours of sleep AND much worse quality.
In the morning, as I open my eyes, I would simply extend my arm and grab the phone sitting on the night stand. I would go through the news sites and FB and Youtube trying to catch up with all of the “earth shattering” events that took place while I was sleeping. I would spend an hour, just laying in bed doing something similar to what I did right before sleeping. And then I would jump out of bed in a panic since one more minute of bed time will mean getting to work late.
I would like to think of myself as a man of action, decision maker and smart. Well, I was no match to the smart phone. It proved to be too strong of a temptation and It won every single time. I simply had to get away from it.
To break this habit, I began plugging in my phone somewhere other than by my bed. I usually keep it at the very least plugged in on the other side of our bedroom where I couldn’t reach it from the bed.
Now, to shut the alarm, I HAVE TO GET OUT OF BED, and usually that is at 5:00 AM
2. Set a positive focus from the start.
When my alarm goes off, I quickly put on my workout clothes and head into my meditation space. I sit on a big comfortable cushion that I placed on the floor, and in that comfortable nook I start out my day by setting a positive focus.
For me this means prayer/ gratitude. I thank GOD for all of the blessings that I have in my life- my children, my wife, my health, my accomplishments, my career, my home, my travels, my finances and all that I have attained and have been blessed with.
I follow that with twenty minutes of meditation. For me, quiet meditation to clear my mind, and to open it for all the events that the day will bring works best and makes me feel the most fulfilled and energized.
It’s 5:30 AM now.
3. Have a plan for the day.
I sit down at my desk and “brain dump” all of the goals I could think of. I simply write all of the goals and tasks that I feel need to be accomplished that day.
Sometimes, it takes a little bit of time for the information to travel from my brain down to my computer, but eventually it always comes.
I run my goals and tasks through the Eisenhower Decision Matrix, I wrote about in another blog (https://wordpress.com/post/control-freaks.blog/328)
Going through that exercise, I assign categories to my goals and determine their importance and urgency which determines whether they get done and when.
It also creates clarity in regards to the goals and tasks that are completely unimportant and do nothing to advance my day forward, so they get deleted. That alone opens up my schedule and is worth the exercise.
I block time for the tasks that I decide to do and usually just use a simple calendar that is found on all iPhones to stay on track.
It’s 6:00 AM
4. Get moving.
Now, it’s time to get moving.
I try to mix it up a bit, with concentration on flexibility and health.
My routine consists of Yoga on some days. Perfect for flexibility. That usually takes an hour.
Other days, I do a cardio workout involving a brisk walk/ jog followed by lifting weights or body weight resistance. That also takes an hour.
Now, it’s 7:00 AM.
5. Feed my brain.
Often, when I am jogging or doing resistance, I listen to an audio book, a podcast or a Youtube video. What a great time to catch up on a subject you are interested in or get some training in.
Even though , I generally dislike and discourage multitasking, in this case I find it to work real well; work out + learn something new at the same time!
6. Feed my belly.
After I’m done working out, I head straight to the kitchen to make breakfast.
Usually, it involves protein ( eggs).
Often, oat meal is involved. No sugar added! only some berries and some almonds. I try to avoid dairy, so the milk I use is either oat milk or almond milk.
Fruits such as berries, citrus, apples, Kiwi, bananas, or what ever is reasonably priced at the grocery store is involved.
I usually avoid bread and coffee as much as possible.
To increase my body alkalinity ( a good thing,) I usually drink a cup of warm water with some lemon juice in it.
I am a creature of habit, so I typically have a combination of what was mentioned above.
7:30 AM
7. Final act before facing the day.
Make the bed. This way I reinforce my sense of “accomplishment” since it symbolizes the completion of a cycle of action ( not to mention that THE BED IS MADE.)
Shower, groom and get dressed. To cut down on the time commitment, I usually have my clothes laid out from the night before and ready for me when I’m done cleaning up.
Now, I’m ready for the day. Bring it on!
It’s 8:00 AM
Abe Jarjoura D.D.S., M.S.
Founder: Dental Care Team Group
Founder: Control “Freaks”- A Group for Dentists who Want to Smile More
Control "Freaks" 
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